My most frequently asked question: Why do you recommend being specific about the job I want? Many people tell me I should be more general.
Here are three great reasons to get specific about the job you want – your “right fit” job:
1. Specificity allows you to identify jobs for which you are suited and want to apply.
Targeted applications are much more effective than scattershot
applications. There are many jobs out there yet there are only a few for
which you are qualified and in which you are interested. Its a waste of
time to apply for anything other than jobs well-matched to your background and abilities.
Being specific about the job you want allows you to look more
effectively at the job marketplace, and it enables other people to help
you. Youre going to have to get specific sometime, so why not do it
consciously?
A job hunt is like a trip somewhere. When you know where youre going,
its much easier to map out a route to get there. The challenge is
deciding where you are going. Many people find it difficult to commit to a specific goal. The biggest fear is that theyll exclude themselves from too many possibilities.
A major problem with modern job search is that so many people can
with the click of a mouse apply for jobs that are totally inappropriate
for them. This clogs the recruiters pipelines and makes it more
difficult for qualified candidates to stand out.
To cut through the clutter, recruiters use key word search engines to find the most qualified candidates, and they use referrals. Its almost impossible for your resume to get reviewed if you dont have the right key words on your resume or a referral from an insider. For these reasons, it makes no sense to spend any time applying for inappropriate jobs.
2. Specificity enables you to market yourself very powerfully to potential employers in four key ways:
* You can craft a resume and cover letters that are internally consistent and build a clear
picture of your abilities and impact in previous jobs. This gives you a
much better chance of rising to the top of the pile and getting an
interview.
* You can show a potential employer how you will help them achieve
their goals, building a case based on your past experience, expertise
and enthusiasm.
* You know why you want to do the job, so you can answer that
question in an interview. Employers want to hire someone who wants to
work for them, so your desire to do the job will make a difference in an
application and an interview.
* You know what youre looking for in an employer and job, so you
can have more confidence in the interview, which avoids the deadly smell
of desperation.
3. When you are specific, its much easier for other people to help you.
“What are you looking for?” is the first question people usually ask
when they find youre looking for a job. If you say “anything,” people
dont know how to help you. Dont you
get suggestions you immediately reject? Ive heard “I just want a job,
any job,” from many people. Yet when I suggest that they apply at a
bookstore or to do sales, they come back with “but I cant do that” or “I
dont want to do that.”
In fact, they are narrowing the search and getting more specific even though they didnt consciously decide to do that.They
often start to ask you questions to help narrow down your focus.
Eventually, youll get more specific and the person may be able to pass
you on to someone else. However, they may have a less-than-optimal
opinion of you because you dont know what you want.
Sometimes, people will say “come back to me when you know what you
want to do.” Its just too hard for someone to do your thinking for you.
So make your networks job simpler by doing the work to decide what work
you want to do.
Specificity is KEY to Job Search Success
The reality is that most of us DO know what we want
to do, what were good at, and what were willing to do as a job. That
knowledge may be hiding under many things. Its certainly easier to say
“I dont want to do this or that” than to say “THIS is what I want to
do.”
Its not very risky to reject things; its riskier and a little scary
to say “I want this.” Avoiding disappointment often is an excuse for not
getting specific. When you say you want something, you risk being
disappointed. I for one dont like being disappointed. It is difficult to
adjust my feelings to a new reality with one less option and perhaps a
little less hope, then to regroup and get myself motivated all over
again to go back out there and look for work.
However, applying for jobs for which you are not suited brings
disappointment, too. If youre going to be disappointed anyway, wouldnt
you rather spend my limited job search time on a process that has a
better chance of producing desired results?
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